Kentucky Politics Distilled: Should Teachers Carry Guns?

In this week’s episode of Kentucky Politics Distilled, a school shooting at Marshall County High School sparks debate in Frankfort over whether and how state government can try to prevent gun violence.

On Tuesday morning, a student opened fire on his classmates, killing two teenagers and injuring more than a dozen others. The incident has drawn sympathy from across the country and around the world.

And on the lighter side, what do purple cows have to do with the fractured politics of the Kentucky House of Representatives? Listen to this week’s wrap up with capitol reporter Ryland Barton.

The identity of the 15-year-old gunman still hasn’t been released two days after he allegedly killed two students and injured 18 others. Dr. Daniel Phillips teaches sociology and criminal justice at Campbellsville University.

"Being young like 15 to 25, being male, that's the profile of a lot of people who do violence throughout our country," Phillips told WKU Public Radio. 'Do I think there's a way you could go into a school and pick out a person who might do this? Probably not.'"

Heather Adams sat in a line of cars along Kentucky Route 95, cars filled with parents who had just received the call no parent wants to get: A shooting at her child’s school, Marshall County High in Benton, Kentucky. Two 15-year-old students were killed and another 18 injured.

Adams was waiting anxiously to pick up her children, a 15-year-old and a ten-year-old. Both were safe and so she could relax enough to talk a bit. Earlier, she was at the high school with other frantic parents looking for answers about their children.

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In the wake of a school shooting in Marshall County, Nicole Erwin takes a look at laws regarding the safe storage of firearms in the region.

More than 20 years ago, Missy Jenkins Smith spent a week in the ICU after a shooter opened fire on his fellow classmates, killing three students. Smith is now a counselor for the Calloway County Alternative Instructional Facility.

Sen. Danny Carroll, a Republican from Paducah, said he hoped the incident would “pull us together” but that the problem can’t be solved in Frankfort.

“I think the reality is no matter what we do physically, if the student is in the mind to do something like this, they’re going to do it,” said Carroll, who graduated from Marshall County High School and represents the area.

Prosecutors won't yet seek attempted murder charges against the 15-year-old suspect in a deadly shooting spree at Marshall County High School and will charge him with first-degree assault for now.

Assistant Marshall County Attorney Jason Darnall told reporters Wednesday that the 15-year-old boy will face 12 counts of first-degree assault instead of attempted murder because they feel they have a better case for those charges right now. Darnall pointed out that the penalties for first-degree assault are the same as for attempted murder.